


The Midnight Wars

by Ode_et_amo



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha Jason Todd, Alpha Slade Wilson, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arranged Marriage, Damian inherits Bruce's throne, Just wanna make that perfectly clear!, Mpreg, Multi, Not Beta Read, Omega Dick Grayson, Past Rape/Non-con, Political Unrest, Slade Wilson is an abusive shit in this one, Slow Burn, This is endgame jaydick, conspiracies against the crown
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:22:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29978007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ode_et_amo/pseuds/Ode_et_amo
Summary: When king Bruce of Gotham suddenly disappears he leaves his three sons to fend for themselves in a court notorious for its insidious intrigues. Unrest is brewing and the people that are not loyal to Bruce starts questioning his illegitimate son's claim to the throne. In order to protect his brothers, and avoid a civil war, Dick agrees to marry general Slade Wilson, a man known for his brutality. Slade demands a child to come out of the marriage, but when he leaves for a mission and Dick is still barren, what is Dick willing to do to protect himself and his family? In his desperation he turns to Jason Todd, one of Damian's personal guards and once Dick's old childhood friend.
Relationships: Barbara Gordon/Roy Harper, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain, background Dick/Slade
Comments: 32
Kudos: 108





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> After publishing 'Somebody else' and recieving so many lovely comments, I finally dared to write down this little idea that wouldn't leave my head. This is my second entry into writing a/b/o and I'm still a little scared about it. I also wanted to write a story from Dick's POV for a change!
> 
> So, I would like to make it clear that I don't really get why people ship Dick/Slade. I mean you're free to do as you please but this one has always made me very uncomfortable. So if you like Slade, this might not be the fic for you because he's gonna be a douche in this one to put it mildly. 
> 
> Warning! This story picks up after Dick has been forced to share a heat with Slade. There are definietly some non-con references here and there will be trauma from this event for Dick to work through, but the non-con itself will not be explicitly described. 
> 
> I tried to keep the language old timey-whimey but I just don't know, it feels a little too much sometimes, so if I mix in modern words/slang I apologize. Also Dick will be called Richard in dialogue, but I'm gonna call him Dick as I write because otherwise I will only confuse myself.

Dick sat in the windowsill of his old bedroom looking out on the court yard where soldiers and horses were being prepared for the upcoming journey. While he couldn’t condone warfare, Dick found himself glad to see them gone because that meant sir Wilson would go with them. The mere thought of the old alpha made him shudder with disgust. He could still feel the alpha’s fingers on his skin even as it had gone five days since the induced wedding heat had ended. Dick had bruises that would still take some more days to heal, and his body still ached in places. Hate didn’t come easy to the omega, but what Slade Wilson had done to him sure made the alpha worthy of all the revulsion Dick could summon.

There was a noise behind him as someone opened the door to his bedroom and Dick reflexively curled tighter around himself. But the steps were light and the scent none-imposing yet familiar. Lilac and meringue. The sweet and calming presence of another omega. His lady-in-waiting, Stephanie.

“Sir” she greeted as custom required, despite the two of them being closer than that. It felt as if his marriage had driven a wedge between him and most of the people he had been close with. Most of them, there among Stephanie, could not comprehend why he would willingly put himself through something like this. “You haven’t eaten?”

Dick followed Stephanie’s gaze to the desk in the corner of the room where his breakfast had been laid out for him. It was still untouched, and Dick had no interest in rectifying that. He shook his head. The ravenous appetite that usually followed his heats were nowhere in sight.

“I hate this” Stephanie said after a moment’s silence, and Dick could see the way she struggled not to let her anger overtake her. “I hate to see you like this. You deserve so much more than this.”

“It’s my duty” Dick murmured, turning back to look through the window once more. He remembered sitting here as a child, watching as Bruce went out with hunting parties, receiving dignitaries or preparing for diplomatic journeys of his own. Most of the time Dick would be by his side though. Kept close in order to learn the trade, and what a trade it was, being king of Gotham. Then Dick had presented and any chances of Dick ever inheriting the throne had went out the window. Bruce might have been a progressive leader, but the court of Gotham still clung to age old traditions. An omega’s duty was to provide a family for their alphas, nothing more.

“I know” Stephanie huffed, irritation still present in her tone, making her scent sour. 

“Did you want something?” Dick muttered.

Stephanie sighed. “Slade wants you present for the departure”

That caught his attention and Dick spun around quickly, staring openly at the other omega. “But I thought…”

“He must have changed his mind.” Stephanie shrugged, hiding her clenched fists in the pockets of her purple skirt. “I’m sorry”

Dick took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. “Tell him I’ll be there in a moment.”

“Okay. Do you want help with anything?”

“I will manage”

Stephanie nodded shortly and left. Dick took another deep breath, feeling the panic rise in his chest. For the past five days he had managed to avoid his new husband almost entirely. He had blamed his health, telling Slade that his body needed to recover and the alpha had had held little interest for it. Allowing for Dick to move back to his own chambers once the royal physician had vouched for him. Not that it had been difficult to convince Leslie to think up some faux illness to guard Dick’s privacy, after all the beta had been looking after the Wayne family since Bruce was a child. Her loyalty was and always would be to his remaining children.

Now Slade had called for him. Dick should have expected that the alpha wanted to see him before he departure and Dick should probably be grateful that Slade had not asked for him sooner or called him back to his chambers.

Moving stiffly, still feeling pain shoot out in his lower body, Dick moved to get himself ready. He took as much time as he dared to, brushing a comb through his hair and dressing up in the orange and black colors that signified Slade’s coat of arms. A while later Dick was making his way down to the throne room.

He slipped in through a side-door, hoping to spare himself some of the attention he knew would be cast his way for his late arrival. The throne room was a gigantic. Dick still remembered the first time he had entered it, as kid traveling with his parents and Haly’s. He had been in awe of the high, arching ceiling with its enchanting paintings of the night sky. The tall columns, the giant painted windows and the white marble floors. As a child he had never thought that humans could build something as impressive, had never seen so many people collected in the same room. It had been daunting, but in his parents’ presence he had felt no fear. Not the way it was currently clawing at his innards.

It appeared that the entire court was present, as it probably should be considering that a large part of Gotham’s army would soon dispatch towards Metropolis to fulfill a pact that had been made a year earlier. King Alexander Luthor had long had his eyes set on Themyscira, especially after the fall of Krypton he had sought to expand his kingdom further. But the people of Themyscira were proud warriors and would not relent their land willingly and tension had therefor grown between the two countries. Bruce had argued that it was a conflict Gotham should keep out of, he had never had any intentions of leading his own people to war for the sake of king Luthor’s power greed. But roughly two years ago Bruce had disappeared on one of his journeys and in his continued absence, the council had changed their earlier position and Gotham was no longer neutral. 

Dick let his eyes fleet across the room, filing away the people who had been loyal to Bruce, needing to know that they were still around. He caught sight of Barry and Iris Allen. Barry’s father Henry had held a place on the counsel, but after the mysterious death of his wife he had been excluded. The Allens had been disgraced by this and the rumors following about how Henry would have murdered his beloved wife. Bruce’s father, the late king Thomas, had argued against judging a death sentence which had earned him the Allens’ eternal gratitude and loyalty. When Dick was first taken in by Bruce after the passing of his parents, Iris’s nephew Wally West had become his first proper friend within the royal court. The redheaded beta sent a sad smile Dick’s way.

Then there was Bruce’s cousin on his mother’s side, Kate Kane. Kate had no claim on the throne and while she and Bruce had not always been on good terms she was still loyal to the Wayne family. Which was more than could be said about most of the other families taking up the court. There was the Cobblepots, a family as old as the Waynes and if you believed in legends it is said that the first founder of Gotham was an early ancestor to the Cobblepots. There was also the Cranes and the Nygmas, two families who had always been self-serving more than anything. Old allies had recently shifted sides, there among Harvey Dent and Pamela Isley. Then of course there was Dick’s own husband. 

Slade Wilson was standing close to the throne, because of course he was. He would do anything to get closer to the royal family and now that he was more or less part of it, he would flaunt it. He was in discussion with Dick’s brother. Tim looked furious, but the beta held it tightly contained and unless you knew him well it was almost impossible to see it. Bruce had always considered Dick to be the greater diplomate of the two, but Tim was a strategist, moving through social interactions as if it was a game of chess. The beta had fought with every tool available to him for Dick not to have to marry Slade, but in the end they had ran out of options and Dick had agreed to the terms presented him while he still had some dignity left to do it with.

Damian, Dick’s youngest brother, was less well-trained in the art of covering up his true emotions, openly broadcasting his distaste for the intruding alpha. The kid, yet unpresented, had always had a hot running temper and he still struggled to control his anger. The crown, as he had been the one to inherit it after Bruce’s disappearance, was a heavy burden to wear. Dick knew this. He had seen it in the lines of Bruce’s face, he couldn’t imagine how heavy it was on Damian as young as the boy still was even though he held on with a brave face.

When Slade realized that Dick had entered the room he turned with a predator’s sharpness and zeroed in on the omega. Dick felt his skin curl, but he knew he couldn’t run away from this. It didn’t matter how much he wanted to. He forced himself to move. Told himself that it was just one step after another. Dick was well aware of the stares following him but he tried his best to ignore them. Instead he focused his gaze on his brothers. It was all for their sake, he had to remind himself. Nothing mattered more to him than keeping them safe.

His gaze drifted from Tim’s slender, pale features to Damian regally dressed in green and gold. Behind the boy stood his bodyguards, two broad-shouldered alphas. Sir Harper, once a squire trained by Oliver Queen, and sir Todd, no more than a street urchin that Bruce himself had picked up in the Narrows. After having seen potential in the kid he had sent him off to one of his own teachers the late sir Pennyworth. The thought of Alfred always came with a sting of sadness. He had been an honest man, a good one in a world were those were few.

Dick searched for Damian’s third guard, sir Cain. When making public appearances it was of the utter most importance that Damian was surrounded by his most loyal and skilled guards. Dick’s union with Slade might have calmed the unrest for some time, but only a fool would think that an assassination attempt wasn’t still a possibility. Damian might be Bruce’s biological son, but he was illegitimate and still just a kid. Dick did not doubt Cain though, she was probably just scouting the grounds, keeping careful watch over any potential threats. What really drew Dick’s attention wasn’t Cain’s absence but rather the pitying looks he received from the two remaining alpha guards. Harper’s eyes had a hint of sadness to them that was rare to see on what Barbara loved to describe as his scoundrel-like face. Todd’s meanwhile carried fury.

The reactions were startling enough that Dick didn’t really notice that he had reached his husbands side until Slade drew him in with an arm around the waist. Dick forced himself to go boneless, to slide perfectly into Slade’s arm like the submissive omega his husband wants him to be. The alpha’s scent enveloped him quickly, threatening to choke him. Myrrh and dark rum, mixing with smoke and leather. It brought forth hazy memories that Dick rather forgot.

Dutifully Dick listened to the proclamation Tim was forced to make about the crusade their army was meant to set out on. The importance of loyalty to allies and keeping promises. Dick could see the strain it had on the young beta, how much he hated every word, having to bend to Luthor’s will instead of following Bruce’s path of peace. Tim ended his speech by turning to Slade.

“And let us not forget the bravery of general Wilson, who has taken it upon himself to lead our troops into the field.”

Slade smiles to the audience, but Dick is not blind to the distaste in his eyes nor the vitriol in Tim’s voice. From the corner of his eyes Dick could see how Todd had taken a step forward, hand clenched on the hilt of his sword as his posture became clearly protective of Damian. If nothing else, Dick knew that his brother would be safe. 

Suddenly Slade’s arm tightened around him, the alpha’s fingers digging into Dick’s waist. It hurt, but Dick forced himself to smile through it. Slade’s whisper was a warm breath against his ear, filled with barely suppressed anger and… envy?

“Why let your eyes stray when you have me to satisfy you?” Slade let his hand move lower over Dick’s hip. “If you felt lonely you should have just told me”

Dick let his fingers tangle with Slade’s before they could move anywhere improper. Once more he forced himself to be pleasant, make his voice liquid sweet.

“You’ve satisfied me plenty”

“That’s what I thought” Slade said, leaning back. A wide grin split his face.

Dick hid the way his own face curled up in disgust by leaning into the alpha’s shoulder, playing the part of the submissive omega once more.

Right before the troop was set to departure, Slade drew Dick aside into a fairly secluded alcove on the way out to the courtyard. Dick’s heart raced in fear of what the alpha would do to him. This was the reason he had avoided him so. Didn’t want Slade’s hands on him, his tongue shoved down his throat, and god forbid if Slade would try to bed him here in the open as if Dick was some common whore.

When they were out of eyesight Slade pushed Dick against the wall and held him there. Dick was terrified and no matter how much he tried to fight it, there was nothing he could do to hide the way his body was trembling.

“So desperate for me you’re shaking with it, huh?” Slade chuckled, leaning in closely until his lips brushed against Dick’s ear. Slade drowned him in his scent, unsubtly trying to claim ownership to Dick while keeping Dick’s shoulder pinned against the cold stone with his heavy hands. Dick forced himself to smile, but with the way his heart was beating it was hard. “Afraid we ain’t got the time, love. But when I come back I promise I’ll _ravish_ you.”

Dick felt like throwing up as the alpha’s breath fell hotly against his cheek. Still the omega forced himself to go limp, pliant. This was not the man that Bruce had raised, he berated himself. Bruce hadn’t cared if Dick was an omega, he had treated him like an equal. Had taught him how to wield weapons and defend himself. He would be disgusted with Dick for having turned into this, but then again Bruce wasn’t here.

When Dick didn’t give Slade the reaction the alpha had awaited both his scent and expression soured, and the hands on Dick’s shoulders turned bruising its grip. The alpha pulled back so that he could snarl openly in Dick’s face, the intensity of his one eye promising violence.

“When I get back you better be carrying my child. That’s why I married you after all, you ungrateful bitch.”

Then Slade’s hands were gone and his scent was no longer as threatening and overbearing. Dick breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the alpha turn his back and walk out on the court yard, certain that Dick would follow the way a dog would its master. Dick let himself linger thought, however briefly, taking a couple of more deep breaths. When he felt like he had collected himself, he righted his clothes and followed.

Dick stood with his brothers on the wide stone steps leading up to the castle, and he could see the leering grins being thrown Slade’s way. Insinuating an occurrence that thankfully did not happen. It made Dick feel sick. He felt… cheap. Sure, he was accustomed to rumors always circling about him, had been ever since Bruce had first taken him in, but this felt insidious somehow. The leering and the comments being thrown around did not concern his parents’ tragedy, his heritage nor his own actions, but rather his body. Or more precisely what was being done to his body. Another violation to add to the list of offences committed against him over the last month.

He felt Damian’s hand tentatively reaching out to grasp his. Dick slotted their fingers together and held on with all his might. Soon Slade would be gone and Dick could pretend everything was fine, that nothing had changed.

Except… What happened if he truly was with child? His life would be irrevocably changed, and Dick doubted it would be for the better. It was one thing to tie himself, his body to the man who was so well-known for his brutality in battle, but to birth a child into such circumstances. The thought was unthinkable, yet Dick knew what was required of him. Dick was reminded of the cold hatred in Slade’s voice, and it made him think, what would happen to him if he _wasn’t_ pregnant?

Dick couldn’t breathe, but he tried to keep the panic attack at bay before it threatened to fully consume him and publically ridicule him. Slade just needed to leave, then everything would be fine the omega told himself.

He watched the men mount their horses, Slade taking up the lead and soon the troop was heading out. Dick stood there watching them until the black and orange of Slade’s coat of arms was no longer visible. Then his legs buckled and Dick felt himself sink to the stone beneath his feet. Before he could perfect the fall however, a strong hand had reached out to steady him with a loose grip around his elbow. It took Dick a moment to realize it wasn’t Damian, even if the kid still held on to him with desperation.

Dick turned his head only to come eye to eye with the swirling sea-green of Jason Todd. The alpha let go, but only after he was sure that Dick could carry his own weight.

“Sorry” Todd murmured, his scent weak due to the high collar of his armor, but Dick could still smell the scent of old books, sandalwood and something else that was hard to define but had a calming effect on Dick none the less. “But you don’t want to look weak in front of them”

His gaze drifted to the people still surrounding them, the court that was trickling back into the castle. Sharp eyes were thrown in their direction, always looking for cracks in the facade. Anything that could be used and manipulated against Damian’s claim to the throne. Todd took an inconspicuous step back, folding in line with Harper behind Damian. Tim moved over to take up his vacated place, gently folding his arm around Dick’s in support and they too made their way back inside.

With Tim’s help Dick made an immediate run for his chambers, and as soon as he came inside he threw the orange and black clothes of his body. Washing of the worst of Slade’s scent with cold water in the basin in the adjacent bathroom. When he was decently satisfied with the result he went back into his bedroom and dug through his wardrobe until he found an old shirt that had belonged to Bruce. He drew it over his head. The worn fabric still carrying a faint scent of sandalwood and citrus. The shirt was a small comfort but Dick clung to it as tightly as he knew his brothers clung to objects they had collected from their father’s chambers.

Tim’s look was full of sympathy. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry”

Dick didn’t know how many times he had heard the beta apologize, but he was growing increasingly sick of it.

“He’s gone now.” Dick shrugged, as if the relief wasn’t enough to make him slightly drunk with it. “Now we can focus or energy back on Oswald Cobblepot and Harvey Dent.”

“As well as figuring out a way to break up your marriage” Tim promised.

Dick allowed himself to smile. “And that.”

___________

The blood was a relief at first. It was proof that the heat he had shared with Slade had not resulted in a pregnancy. Then he thought of having to share another heat with Slade and it sent his body into a panic convulsion. That was how Stephanie eventually found him, passed out on the floor between his bathroom and his bedroom.

She roused him gently and helped him over to the bed. Dick hated feeling this weak and dependent on others, yet he his legs shook too much beneath him. Stephanie was patient with him, more than he often gave her credit for, as she sat down beside him and waited for him to speak.

“What is it? What happened?”

“I’m not…” Dick took a shuddering breath. He was being ridiculous he told himself. What was so goddamned afraid of? (Oh, he knew that far too well). “I’m not with child.”

“That’s… great!” Stephanie said after a moment, but then she saw the way Dick’s distress didn’t ease and hesitatingly she added: “Or not…?”

“It’s complicated” Dick offered eventually.

“You don’t want to carry his child, do you?” Stephanie asked in that direct, unshielded way that had made Dick accept her in the first place.

“Gods no!” Dick exclaimed and he meant it wholeheartedly, but he knew his situation was more precarious than that. He thought for a moment before he came to a decision.

“Would you mind getting Tim and Leslie for me?”

“Of course.” Stephanie said somewhat startled. “Whatever you need”

“Thank you.” Dick gave her a vein smile. “You’re a good friend.”

Stephanie left him to his musings. He went over to his desk and pulled out paper and a quill paired with some ink. His thoughts were conflicting and he needed to write down his arguments. Maybe if he can put them on paper the picture would become clearer to him. The beginnings of a plan was forming in the back of his head. He needed Leslie’s medical input on it though, and he needed to concretize his thought process if he was to convince Tim.

He needn’t wait long until the two betas were lead into his atrium. Dick took a deep breath before he joined them, sitting down in the sofa while Tim and Leslie took an armchair each.

“What’s the matter?” Tim asked instantly.

“Are you feeling well, sir?” Leslie wondered, brow furrowed in concern.

Dick nodded, then took a deep breath. He held on to his paper with shaking hands, but he had made up his mind. Certain that among his options, this wouldn’t be the worst one.

“I’m not… not with child.” Dick began only to receive similar reactions of bewilderment that Stephanie had given him. Dick took a couple of calming breaths to be able to follow through with the next part. “Slade expects me to carry his child.”

Leslie quirked an eyebrow. “Then you will need to go through another heat.”

Dick nodded solemnly in agreement. “Exactly.”

“This feels like a confidential conversation, so why am I here?” Tim wondered, looking increasingly uncomfortable.

“Because I don’t intend to carry Slade’s child and I need your help to figure out how to avoid it.”

“I am working on having the marriage annulled.” Tim said quickly.

Dick nodded in understanding. “I know, but only the king can make that decision without providing an explanation. A king of age”

“Yes” Tim said, voice hinting at defeat and Dick could not bear the thought of his brother giving up just yet. He knew there had to be a way to take back control without needing to rely so heavily on the councils support. But they needed time. Precious time they did not have. “Do you have a plan?”

“I might have.” Dick nodded. “We need Slade to believe I am with child. It will buy me time and convince people like Cobblepot and Dent that I am loyal to my husband and their cause.”

“Even if you have no direct claim to the throne, a child of yours sired by someone like Slade might give the conspirers something to rally behind.” Tim argued. “That could entail an even bigger threat to Damian.”

“I am more concerned about what will happen to you, Richard, once Slade finds out that you’re not pregnant.” Leslie wedged in.

That was a fair question, because so was Dick. “We could I say I lost it.”

“A miscarriage would under normal circumstances trigger a heat” Leslie pointed out. “What do we say when that doesn’t happen? Because I will not induce another heat in you by using drugs again.”

“Which I am grateful for.” Dick said, shuddering at the mere thought. “I don’t want to ever share a heat with him again.”

“I see” Leslie nodded. “What are the options to have the marriage annulled?”

“Well, actually, I’ve been looking into this” Tim said after a moment’s thought. “There is an old law that we might be able to use. You see, an omega _can_ ask to have a marriage annulled, but only after a year and if they can prove that they have been mistreated by their alpha.”

“A year?!” Dick exclaimed in anguish.

“I’m afraid so” Tim murmured, once more sounding despondent.

“Hm” Leslie murmured after a while. “Well, if you _were_ pregnant that would give you nine months that we could protect you from his touch for medical reasons.”

“Only he would have to bed me again, wouldn’t he?” Dick asked bitterly.

“Not necessarily.” Leslie said.

“What are you suggesting, doctor?” Tim asked.

Leslie's old eyes, so full of patient wisdom, had a new gleam to them. “If there was another alpha…”

“Then Dick won’t need to fear Slade, the questionable members of the council will think they have Dick’s loyalty” Tim’s excitement was growing in his eyes. “But the child won’t be one they can claim and therefor will not be a threat to Damian.”

“Isn’t it enough that they think it is Slade’s?” Dick wondered after a moment.

“Perhaps.” Tim agreed, but this had given him new hope. “We’ll need to heighten the security around Damian and gather those who are still loyal to Bruce. If we are prepared enough we may weather this together. And in a year, you can ask for an annulment and we will reveal the true father of your child”

Tim was glowing with newfound determination, reaching for Dick’s paper and asking for a quill from Leslie to quickly sketch out the foundations of their plan. He had a ferocity in his dedication to his work that reminded Dick a lot of Bruce, and many a times had he thought that maybe Tim would have been the best replacement for the lost king. But Tim claimed that he was happier to work from the shadows.

“The king is the head that wears the crown” he had told Dick once when they were younger, and the words had stuck because they carried a chilling truth to them. “I’d rather be the neck that turns the king’s head”

“I need to bed another alpha?” Dick asked eventually, stopping Tim short. Leslie threw him an apologetic glance, probably sensing the panic rising in Dick’s chest. The thing was, Dick had never wanted an alpha in the first place, had always been more attracted to betas, even omegas. He had never liked the idea of bending to someone else’s will, and he also preferred the betas more calmer demeanor. Not only were alphas often more aggressive, it was encouraged in them. Slade serving as a stellar example of all Dick’s fears when it concerned getting mated to an alpha. He didn’t want to risk finding himself in such a vulnerable position with yet another one.

“Could a beta do the job?” Tim asked, catching on to Dick’s distress. It was probably clogging the air around him anyway. “I mean maybe Wally could…?”

Leslie was slowly shaking her head. “While there are no numbers on the subject, the possibility for a beta to impregnate an omega outside of heat is somewhat… slim. It is of course not an ideal situation…”

“Nothing about this is _ideal_ ” Dick snarled, then forced himself to take calming breaths. This wasn’t their fault. It was all about unfortunate circumstances. “So as my physician, you recommend an alpha?”

Leslie gave a grim smile. “As far as you can prescribe a living, breathing person, yes”

“Fine” Dick muttered, sinking deeper into the couch cushions. 

“It has to be someone who is loyal to Bruce” Tim said, but Dick was not going to let this decision be left to his brother.

“No!” he protested, voice coming out a little too harsh, but he didn’t care, needed to make his point and have it listened to. “It will be someone I trust. Someone who could be loyal to _me_ ”

Tim stared at him for a moment, his blue eyes calculating. Then eventually he nodded.

“Okay, that’s fair.” he said before rising from his seat, folding the paper with the newly drawn up plan into a neat square that he dropped into his coat pocket. “I have a meeting to get to, but as soon as you have made your decision inform me”

“Is there a deadline?” Dick asked.

“There might be a biological one” Tim shrugged his shoulders, then leaned over to clutch Dick’s shoulder. “Richard…”

“What?”

“Thank you” Tim’s smile was small but hopeful. 

____________

Not sure what to do with himself after congressing with Tim and Leslie, his thoughts still raging in his head, Dick decided to distract himself by spending some time with Damian. He found the boy in the garden, training how to wield his katana. A heritage from his mother’s side of the family.

She was the great Talia al Ghul, daughter or Ra’s al Ghul, leader of the League of Assassins. Bruce had met her in his youth, fallen madly in love with her spirit but because of who she was he had never been allowed to marry her. A couple of years later, they had met again, and Damian was supposedly the outcome of that encounter. Talia had held the birth of the child secret, but after falling ill, she feared for the boy’s safety should he stay and be raised in the League’s tradition. Therefore she had sent her only child to live with his father, convinced that he would be safe there. Unfortunately she hadn’t counted on Bruce disappearing a couple of years later.

Damian was moving slowly, every movement of his arm flowing like water, making the exercise with the deadly weapon in his hand look more like a meditation routine. Sir Todd would occasionally step up to him and straighten his posture or direct his strokes, but he did it with gentle hands and murmured praises.

Dick approached slowly, finding himself entranced by the scene. By the alpha’s patience and the way Damian let himself be guided. He must respect Sir Todd something fiercely. Distracted, Dick failed to notice when Sir Cain fell in step with him. One moment she was just there, a shadowy presence at his side. When he glanced over she gave him a vague smile, leading him out into the clearing, alerting Damian and Sir Todd with a simple hand gesture.

Sir Todd straightened his back and took a step away from Damian’s side. Damian whirled around and when he saw Dick he dropped the sword and hurled himself into Dick’s arms.

“Hey, now, what’s this?” Dick murmured as the boy’s arms closed around his waist. Gently Dick let his fingers brush through the black strands on the boy’s head, hoping to comfort him by making his scent as calming as possible.

“I’ve missed you” Damian whispered into Dick’s stomach.

Dick felt a lump form in his throat at the easy admittance. The guilt battling with the affection, threatening to strangle him. He struggled to make his words come out without hinting at all his inner distress. “I’m right here”

Damian just shook his head and all Dick could do was to hug him tighter. He did not know how long they stood like that, Dick breathing in Damian’s familiar scent, petrichor and saffron. After some time Sir Todd eventually cleared his throat and broke the spell of comfort that had fallen over them.

“Your majesty, are we done for the day?” he asked, having picked up the katana and sheeted it. Damian took a step back from Dick’s arm, held his head high and gave a short nod, but then after a moment’s hesitation, during which he had sucked his lower lip between his teeth, he eventually asked, tone going hopeful:

“Will you teach me more tomorrow?”

“Of course” Todd said, allowing a small smile to slip over his features, before he took a step back. He tilted his head in Dick’s direction. “Your highness”

And Dick hated the formality. Always had, but especially from someone like Todd. It made Dick feel like something alien. Someone taken out of their context only to be thrust into a new reality where they did not quite belong.

Todd had been his friend once. A long time ago, when Dick’s parents were still alive and there was yet to be anything noble about the knight. Back when they were children and status didn’t matter and they were allowed to call each other by their first names. _Jason._ The kid Dick remembered bore little resemblance to the stern and powerful man standing in front of him now. As a kid he had been brash, and curious and adventurous. Not entirely unlike Dick himself. Thick as thieves they had been, and Dick’s mother would often tease him about the other boy. He had been embarrassed then, but now the memory returned with a certain fondness. 

“My lord” Dick greeted in kind.

Sir Todd shook his head, with a self-deprecating quirk of his lips. “Have no land to be lord over”

“Right” Dick murmured, thinking that neither did he have any kingdom to be a highness for but he kept the thought to himself. Instead opting to concentrate all his attention on Damian. God knew the kid deserved it.

He let Damian lead him through the garden. Telling him about all the things he had learnt in his daily lessons, complaining about boring teachers and raging at unfair circumstances. Dick did his best to calm the worst of Damian’s moods by distracting him with yellow raspberries that they plucked from thorny shrubs. Dick plucked the berries quickly and efficiently, tilting some of his harvest into Damian’s cupped hands.

At the back of his neck he felt the prickle as they were being watched by Todd and Cain. He wondered what it was like for Damian to live like that. How long it had taken him to come to terms with never being allowed to be on his own? Dick knew that Damian had hated it in the start, almost as much as having to take over the crown of a father that everyone claimed was dead.

Dick shook his head. Could not let his mind stray onto such sad subjects. Had to try, for his own sake and Damian’s, to exist solely in the presence. Sun bathing their faces in warmth, as the sweet taste of the raspberries lingered on his tongue.

His heart melted further as he watched Damian turn to his guards to offer them raspberries from his open palm. The two alphas gave him small twin smiles and plucked themselves a berry each. 

It didn’t occur to Dick until he made his way back to his own chambers, leaving Damian in the capable hands of his guards, that an alpha he could entrust his brother’s life with would probably be safe enough to entrust his own body with. At the very least, it would limit his options.

There was Sir Cain, the female alpha with no past but a loyalty that was unmoving. Perhaps that had been the reason why she had so effortlessly caught Stephanie’s eye. No, Sir Cain was not an option.

Then there was of course Sir Harper, loud, brash, prone on getting into trouble but with a heart of gold in his own right. As a teenager Dick had used to spend time with him and Wally He chuckled at the thought, it had never lead to good things.

And lastly, there was Jason Todd. Once he had been almost like a brother to Dick, before they’re paths had diverged and they had become nothing more than strangers to one another. But Dick knew that Jason was loyal, trustworthy and fiercely protective of the people he cared about. Maybe, just maybe, Dick could tolerate him enough to get the job done.

Dick brought the thought with him to bed that night, imagining the alpha lying there beside him as he fell asleep. It was scary, but not nearly as terrifying as the image of Slade Wilson that met him every time he closed his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick forced a pleasant smile. “May I speak with you?”  
> Todd lifted an eyebrow but otherwise kept his face perfectly neutral. “Of course”  
> “I want to ask you a favor” Dick said, taking a deep breath. “A proposition of sorts. Whether you take it or not is entirely up to you, but either way know that this is strictly confidential. You cannot speak about this to anyone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your encouraging comments! Reading them is humbling and motivating so thank you! You're nourishing my creativity!
> 
> Warning! Some more references to past sexual abuse, but again nothing explicit. Also brief mention of racism.

His own jumbled mess of thoughts kept haunting him. On the one side there was Slade and a life spent in servitude, on the other: a drop into a bottomless abyss of uncertainty. Neither option was very appealing.

Dick had tried to eat some of the cut fruit that Stephanie had prepared for him, only for his stomach to swim with nausea. It had been the same after his parents’ accident. Only through patience and coursing had Bruce finally convinced him to eat something. In moments like this he missed Bruce so fiercely he was sure he would go mad with it. Dick tried to imagine what he would say, what he would do. His big hand rubbing soothing circles down Dick’s back.

_“If the odds are against you, create better ones”_

“How?” Dick muttered into his empty bedroom. He took a calming breath and went over the options again. No matter the variables, the back-and-forths he argued with himself, he always landed on Sir Todd. Loyal to Bruce? Check. Devoted to Damian? Check. He wasn’t a redhead which otherwise might become a problem should the kid inherit the trait. Dick had been close to him once, he didn’t think he would have a problem trusting him again, at least not in a confidential sort of way.

But Sir Todd was also a skilled and well-trained soldier. He would by far be the stronger of the two of them. If the alpha wanted to, he could hold Dick down and there would be nothing Dick could do about it. The mere thought almost pushed Dick into another panic attack.

No, he couldn’t allow himself to think like that. There would be terms. A proper contract, and should Todd break the agreement there would be consequences.

He still felt like he needed to broach this subject with someone else. Someone who knew Dick on an intimate level. Getting dressed, Dick decided to pay Barbara a visit.

Barbara Gordon was the daughter of the captain of the royal guard. She was a fierce, intelligent beta and Dick’s first love, now turned close friend. 

If Barbara was surprised to see him, she didn’t show it. She only stepped out of the way and held the door open further to let Dick inside. As a beta she was almost scentless but there was that vague yet familiar hint of roses lingering in the air around her.

“What do I owe the pleasure?” she asked, leading the way over to a table where she began clearing away strewn out papers, clearly making a spot for Dick to sit down. He took the offered chair and nodded gratefully when she offered him tea.

“I need your opinion on something”

“Is that so?” Barbara said with a small grin as she settled into a chair opposite him.

Dick tried to give her a smile in turn but he could feel how strained and put upon it was. When Barbara noticed this her own smile fell quickly. She reached out a hand and placed it gently on Dick’s arm.

“Richard?” she asked, her face settled in concern and voice going soft. “How are you?”

Dick swallowed around the lump building in his throat. She had always been caring, it was one of the many reasons Dick had once fallen in love with her. It had been so incredibly effortless. He found himself growing nostalgic even though he knew it was a comfort he could not allow himself in his current situation.

“I get by” Dick said after a moment, because at least the knowledge that Slade was currently traveling further and further away from him eased some of the tension that had gathered in the back of his head.

“Don’t lie to me. We’re past that, don’t you think?” Barbara said, tone reproving but her thumb still gentle as it rubbed soothing circles onto his skin. “Did he hurt you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it” Dick said quickly, not wanting to open that can of worms. He hadn’t come here to be interrogated, especially not about his sham of a marriage.

Barbara sighed quietly and retracted her hand. “Okay, what did you need my opinion about?”

Dick straightened his back, head held high as he met her gaze, feeling himself take back control over the situation. He had prepared for this. “Your father is responsible for the hiring of all royal guards, is he not? Including the ones protecting Damian?”

“Yes and no” Barbara said.

“What do you mean?” Dick furrowed his brow in confusion.

Barbara tilted her head slightly, eyes turning suddenly curious as she beheld him. “You didn’t know? Damian’s personal guards were handpicked by Bruce before he left.”

“What?”

“A former assassin, an archer equally skilled at long and short range, as well as a multi-martial artist” Barbara spread her hands out before her. Broadcasting a truth that had been staring them all in the face for so long, yet Dick hadn’t noticed.

With the revelation came insight. “He picked the best”

Barbara simply nodded, anything else would have been over-redundant.

“That means he knew something would happen to him” Dick exclaimed. Was this not what Tim had tried to tell him when the three alpha guards suddenly appeared, shadowing Damian’s every step. Tim had treated it as if it were some great conspiracy. Dick had thought it ridiculous at the time, but now he started doubting, maybe Tim had been right all along.

Barbara hummed in agreement. “Or at the very least he must have suspected something.”

Dick wasn’t quite listening, too distracted by his own thoughts. He needed to speak with Tim, right his own mistake and actually listen this time. What else had his brother been trying to tell him that Dick had been too blind to see?

“I need to go…” he said as he rose from his chair, the tea in front of him impolitely discarded.

“Wait” Barbara said, reaching out to graze her fingers over his wrist. The action made him stop short, yanking his arm out of her grasp. It was a knee-jerk reaction, and by the way Barbara’s face crumbled in concern and confusion, a new one. “I’m sorry, I… You came to ask my opinion about something and I don’t think this was it”

“It doesn’t matter now” Dick shook his head, trying to calm his breathing as it had momentarily spiked.

Barbara gave him another gentle smile. This one too soft, as if he was porcelain and she was terrified of breaking him. He hated it. Hated what he had turned into.

“If it’s something you worry about of course it matters” she said.

Dick had never been anxious, never kept secrets, had always spoken freely, but now he kept his tongue more often than not. She was right of course, she always was. He had come to her for a reason and he still wanted her opinion. But it was hard. Maybe it was the way he could no longer quite return the trust she so easily held with him that made it even harder. After a moment’s thought however, he broached the subject.

“What is your opinion on sir Jason Todd?”

Barbara startled, her eyebrows rising up her forehead, mouth moving to form words, before she closed it abruptly. She could probably read it in the lines of his face that this wasn’t as innocent a question as it first might seem.

“In what capacity?” she asked.

Dick shrugged. “Any”

Barbara mulled it over for a moment but then said: “He is good at his work, he seems to have a natural connection with Damian, what else?”

Dick took a deep breath. “How is his behavior around omegas?”

If Barbara was still surprised, she hid it well.

“As far as I have heard nothing but cordial.” But then a glint of suspicion flickered in her eyes. “Why? Has he done something?”

“No, I was just curious.” Dick was quick to assure, but when Barbara’s gaze only turned even more investigative he had to think up an excuse. “I don’t want the wrong people to influence Damian.”

Barbara huffed. “Then you should really do something about that Roy Harper.”

The obvious disapproval in her voice made Dick quirk his lips in sudden amusement. He had never understood Barbara’s dislike for Sir Harper but he assumed it could be due to their very different personalities. Barbara liked order, Harper attracted chaos. Opposing charges.

Dick hummed to himself, before he met Barbara’s eyes anew. He saw a friend he hadn’t prioritized in too long. He would need to figure something out. Perhaps a dinner. Maybe he could invite Wally as well. Even if he couldn’t exactly tell them about _the plan_ , he knew he would need their support none the less and he feared that shutting them out, as he had done for the past month and a half, would only harm him more in the end.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he reached out to pull Barbara into a hug. Barbara curled her arms around him and held on tightly.

“Thank you” he murmured.

“Your welcome. Always”

_____________

On his way back to his chambers Dick took a detour to Tim’s rooms. He had a feeling they needed to discuss what Barbara had just told him.

His brother was bent over a book, as he most often was, furiously scribbling notes on a separate paper as he read. Dick cleared his throat from the doorway to catch Tim’s attention. Tim glanced up at him startled.

“Hi, am I disturbing?” Dick wondered, taking in the chaotic state of Tim’s chamber. Piles of books stacked on the floor, discarded dishes and clothing. He wondered if Tim had ordered his chambermaids to keep out, and if his brother felt he had important documents lying about it could be a potential safety risk, but Dick dearly hoped Tim hadn’t turned that suspicious yet. 

“No, no it’s fine.” Tim was quick to reassure, pushing his work aside. “I didn’t hear you come in”

“Well, you seemed distracted” Dick offered.

“It’s Dent” Tim sighed. “Something he said in council today caught me off guard. I don’t like when that happens”

“What was it about?” Dick asked. Ever since Bruce stopped brining him to the council meetings his curiosity with its proceedings had only grown. Tim tried to slip him bits and pieces of information whenever he could, but there were some things that were confidential.

“Taxes” Tim muttered, and as he continued his voice rose with aggravation. “He wants to fund the army by putting more economic pressure on the working class as if they weren’t already contributing with soldiers. Meanwhile he keeps himself with this large estate down-south that he never visits because he’d rather be here meddling with how we run this bloody country.”

“Hey, now” Dick soothed, settling down on the arm of the chair Tim was occupying, brushing his fingers through his brother’s black, feathery hair. Tim hadn’t even turned twenty yet, but just like Damian he had had this great responsibility thrusted upon him with Bruce’s disappearance. And there was little Dick could do the ease either of their burdens. More than five years Tim’s senior and almost fifteen years Damian’s, yet it was Dick who was treated like a child. It didn’t anger him so much anymore as frustrate him. “You will find a way, you always do”

Tim sighed, but leaned into the touch, resting his forehead against Dick’s shoulder. This close up Dick could sense his mild scent of rain and soapwort.

“It’s just… They’re acting as if we were standing at the brink of a war.”

This was concerning news, but it tied into Dick’s query so he thought it the right moment to ask.

“I need to ask you about something” Dick said, still brushing through Tim’s hair.

“Go ahead”

“Did you know that Bruce appointed Damian’s personal guards?”

Tim glanced up at him, his pale blue eyes searching Dick’s face. Then after a moment he nodded. “Yes. How did you…?”

“Barbara told me”

“I wondered when you would figure it out”

“I’m not stupid, I’m just being kept out of the loop” Dick said, reproaching.

“Yeah, I know. To be fair I didn’t know for certain, but… Bruce knew something would happen to him. I’m convinced it wasn’t an accident.”

“They said he rode off a cliff” Dick murmured.

It had been a diplomatic journey to king Luthor’s court. Luthor had invited him for a royal hunt. They had never found Bruce’s body, therefor no one had been able to declare him dead. All sort of rumors had spread. Some believed Bruce had used a potential accident to disappear, escape duties, maybe he had fled to Nanda Parbat to reunite with Talia. Rumors were always insidious and never true.

“I don’t believe that” Tim stubbornly claimed. “Anyway he could survive anything.”

Tim’s conviction hurt. Because while Dick had been forced to face the reality that this was their lives now, Tim and Damian both had clung stubbornly to the hope that Bruce was still alive somewhere and that all of this was temporary. Dick could not allow himself that sort of hope.

Suddenly in a bad mood, Dick decided it would be better to leave, before their conversation could evolve into yet another argument as was often the case when Bruce was mentioned. He didn’t have the energy for it right now.

But before Dick could reach the door Tim’s voice called after him.

“By the way! Have you come to a decision yet? About the alpha?”

Dick curled his fists, but kept them out of sight. This is where Tim’s detours into diplomacy often failed. He was too stuck in his own head that he often missed the atmosphere shifting in the room around him.

“Yes” Dick said, lips thinning out.

“And?” Tim prompted.

Dick turned to face him with a pleasant enough smile. “I will ask Sir Todd.”

If Tim was surprised he didn’t show it. Instead he hummed thoughtfully. “How will you convince him?”

And Dick had thought about this extensively. Remembering sir Todd’s sardonic comment about being no lord since he owned no property. It would be a strong motivator for most.

“He’s a knight with no land to his name”

“Bribery” Tim nodded dismissively, and as Dick fled the room his stomach curled with sudden disgust at himself. Was he trying to buy Todd’s consent?

_____________

“I haven’t seen you put on a proper dress shirt since the wedding” Stephanie said when she caught sight of him. “What’s the big occasion?”

Dick looked himself over in the mirror feeling dissatisfied. He wore an azure blue, silk tunic, embroidered with violets and tiny birds around the neck and hem. It wasn’t nearly as fancy as something he would wear to one of the castle’s annual balls, but it was far more dressed up than anything he’d worn in what felt like ages. Hence Stephanie’s surprise.

“Does it look… overdressed?” Dick asked haltingly.

“Depends” Stephanie tilted her head as if the new angle would give her a better grasp on what was going on in his head. “I mean you’re a prince, but if you’re just going to stay in your room all day it might be a little over the top.”

“You’re hilarious.”

“Thank you, I’m glad you’re appreciating my effort” Stephanie grinned, before she walked up to him to adjust his neckline until it covered the mating bite. Dick silently thanked her, he hated the sight of it. Then she dragged her fingers through his hair to fluff it up and Dick assumed, style it. “You’re looking great, as always, so stop fidgeting.”

Dick gave her a small smile, and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly. “Wish me luck”

“I have no idea what you’re doing today, but I’m sure you will kill it” Stephanie patted him comfortingly on the shoulder, before taking a step back to clean up their breakfast. She had taken to eating it with him in order to make sure he actually ate something.

“That’s what I’m afraid of” Dick muttered to himself.

He took a last look at himself in the mirror. Deeming that it would have to do, he went in search of Damian.

The boy was found easily enough. Dick caught him in the midst of storming out of another session with one of his tutors. As always he was closely followed by his guards, and as Dick caught sight of sir Todd he felt his heart plummet to the pit of his stomach. All bravery fleeing with it. But that could wait another moment. First he needed to make sure that Damian was alright.

Damian was boiling, face flushed red in anger and scent having gone sour. He marched quickly down the corridor and Dick had to quicken his pace to catch up with them. Sir Harper was the first one to notice him, giving him a long appreciative once over. Dick ignored him and his own blushing cheeks to reach Damian.

Dick grabbed the boy by the shoulder. The action startled Damian enough that he turned around swinging. The fist caught Dick off guard, but luckily Damian’s aim had been bad and it barely even grazed him. When Damian realized who it was, he bent his head in shame and murmured a string of apologizes.

“What happened this time?” Dick asked instead.

“I will not stand to have that man tutor me any longer! He is an ignorant bigot and…” Damian raged, and all Dick could do was to try and calm him down. He glanced briefly up at the two guards.

 _“Talia”_ Harper mouthed helpfully enough.

 _Ah_ , Damian’s mother had always been a sensitive topic. Many in court believed that the people of Nanda Parbat were no more than uncivilized savages. Another reason why many of the old Gothamite houses detested Damian.

“Don’t listen to him. To people like that.” Dick murmured, hugging Damian close, feeling the sting of it as he had encountered the same sneering comments ever since Bruce took him in. _Is that stray supposed to inherit the throne?_ “You belong here.”

“I know” Damian grumbled, but his scent had gone sweeter again, a sign that he had calmed down. Dick breathed in the warming scent of saffron. 

“How about we get some lunch?” Dick suggested.

A moment later they were seated on the terrace overlooking the royal garden, smoked salmon on their plates and two disgruntled body-guards watching them from afar after Dick had asked them for some privacy. It felt nice to have an almost normal conversation with his youngest brother for once. They spoke about nothing yet it meant everything. It also served as a great distraction from the conversation Dick had intentionally sought Damian, or rather his entourage, out for. 

But soon enough lunch was over and Dick ran out of excuses. As their empty plates were taken away by servers, Damian had walked over to Harper and demanded that the alpha taught him how to shoot with bow and arrow. By Harper’s exasperated expression it seemed to be a repeated demand but the alpha just shook his head, before reaching out and ruffling Damian’s hair. Dick was surprised by the action, but found it reassuring that there were still people treating Damian like the kid he was. Damian was less amused by it and if stares could kill, sir Harper would be nothing more than a pile of ashes.

Sir Todd rolled his eyes, glancing over at Dick with a small grin spreading over his features as if this was a regular occurrence. Dick still tried to reconcile the image of this man with the Jason he had once known, but when he smiled he could gleam the similarities. Somehow it was almost more daunting to ask _Jason_ of this favor than Damian’s guard. Perhaps because that would mean something and he couldn’t allow this to become anything.

While Damian and Harper were caught up in a silent battle, Dick walked up beside Todd. In comparison to Harper, Todd had not spared more than a brief glance in Dick’s direction when he had first caught up with them, which now only made Dick feel overdressed and even more uncomfortable.

“Your highness” Todd nodded in greeting.

Dick forced a pleasant smile. “May I speak with you?”

Todd lifted an eyebrow but otherwise kept his face perfectly neutral. “Of course”

“I want to ask you a favor” Dick said, taking a deep breath. “A proposition of sorts. Whether you take it or not is entirely up to you, but either way know that this is strictly confidential. You cannot speak about this to anyone.”

Todd’s open face crumbled into one of suspicion. Reflexively he had moved his hand to the hilt of his sword.

“Has something happened? Something that concerns Damian?”

Dick quickly shook his head. “Not yet, but in a way it might. Would you… Please, walk with me”

Sir Todd glanced back to where Damian and Harper were locked in an intense game of staring. Seemingly content in the knowledge that Damian was under proficient supervision, he gave a short nod and fell into step beside Dick.

They walked along the balustrade. Beneath them they could see the tree crowns of some apricot trees. When they had been kids, they had once challenged each other to jump out from the terrace and launch themselves at the trees. Dick, whose parents had been acrobats and had taught him from an early age, had easily made the jump, while Jason’s fingers had grazed a branch before he went falling through the leaves, hitting the ground hard. He’d broken his elbow and Dick had rushed to get him help.

“So, what is this favor?” Todd asked, and Dick was rudely brought from his musings.

Where to begin? Dick took a deep breath, finding himself incapable of keeping eye-contact with the alpha.

“As you know, my husband is away.” Dick felt almost sickened by himself, being able to utter the word so casually, but he forced himself to go on. “Before he left he gave me what you could call an ultimatum. That is… I’m to be expecting by the time he comes back.”

“Excuse me, but is this not a very private matter?” sir Todd asked, looking about as uncomfortable with the subject as Dick felt. “I don’t see how this would concern me.”

This was Dick’s shot. He only had to push past his own terror. Taking a deep, shuddering breath he met Todd’s eyes. “I am not with child.”

He could see the gears turn in the alpha’s head. Eventually Todd brought them to a stop, his eyes locked on the horizon and his voice came out almost indifferent.

“A proposition? Is that what you said?”

“Yes. I want you to impregnate me” Dick rushed out. “Of course you would be adequately compensated. Your own plot of land, a smaller estate.”

Sir Todd only stared at him. His face had gone slack and suddenly the imposing alpha guard reminded Dick more of a startled kid. A kid that had just hit the ground after a free fall through the treetops. There was something almost endearing about it, if the situation hadn’t been so absurd. Then Todd opened his mouth and…

“No” At first Dick thought he had misheard him, but then Todd shook his head more resolutely. “No, I will not do it.”

Dick didn’t know why he had been so certain that Todd would accept the offer, but in the face of the alpha’s rejection he found himself at a loss for any sensible thought.

“You… you decline?” he choked on the words.

“Yes, I decline.”

“W-why?”

“Do you really need an answer for that?” the alpha wondered, eyebrows raised in bewilderment.

Dick lowered his gaze and shook his head. He shouldn’t have assumed, but the fear of actually going through with this plan had overwhelmed him enough that he hadn’t even considered that Todd might not agree. Suddenly he was back where he had started, only slightly more humiliated.

“Not that it isn’t an honor” Todd said after a moment, as if realizing that it might make him seem ungrateful if he didn’t. After all he had been offered an advanced social position and land in exchange for his contribution.

Dick shook his head. “No, you’re right. Let’s forget this conversation ever occurred”

Sir Todd nodded, then bowed and backed the required three steps before he turned around and walked back to Damian and Harper. Dick watched the way his armor moved with the motions of his shoulders, telling himself he was stupid for feeling disappointed.

____________

Dick had locked himself up in his room for the following days. The rejection had stung more than he had expected and the embarrassment from that realization had made him want to hide. Stephanie had huffed in resignation when she found him curled up in bed yet another morning and had promptly sent for Leslie.

Leslie had checked his temperature and vitals but once she realized that his behavior had nothing to do with his physical well-being, she asked Stephanie to step out of the room for a moment.

“So what is this really about?”

Dick met the wise beta’s imploring gaze. “I chose an alpha, he rejected the offer”

Leslie quirked an eyebrow. "Then ask another."

And while the beta was probably right, only now did Dick realize how much he had wanted for it to be sir Todd, for sir Todd to agree. He knew it was stupid, but he couldn’t imagine anyone else.

As if Leslie could somehow read his mind she patted his arm gently and said: “Or ask the same one again.”

“He said no, I can’t coerce him.”

Leslie’s smile immediately turned sad. “You would never.”

There was a knock on the door, then Stephanie’s voice carried through.

“I don’t know if this is a bad time, probably is, but there’s a letter for you”

Dick let himself fall back into his mountain of pillows with a heavy sigh. “Bring it in.”

Stephanie pushed the door open and thread in surprisingly carefully, as if the weight of the letter had somehow darkened her mood. It was only then Dick realized who the letter was from. He was surprised Slade hadn’t written to him earlier, but maybe he had expected for Dick to write?

He took the letter trying to ignore the burning sensation that traveled up his arm.

“Do you want us to leave you?” Leslie asked delicately, and all Dick could do was nod.

The two of them soon left him, and steeling himself for it, Dick tore into the envelope. The first thing he saw was the neatness of the handwriting which shouldn’t surprise him as much as it did. Slade was an army general after all. He preferred order and control, which was visible in every detail of his being. This being no different.

The opening lines were polite enough. No endearments. No ‘my beloved husband’. Dick wasn’t sure he would have been able to stomach it if that had been the first thing to greet him. As was Slade had written to inform him that the army only had another month or so before they entered the heart of Metropolis. The alpha kept the letter short, not sharing any information he deemed too complex for a simple omega to understand. On the one hand Dick was glad for it, he didn’t care to engage in his so called husband’s work, on the other, he knew it could be potentially important information he was missing out on.

The alpha had finished off the letter with: _‘I am surprised to not have heard from my omega earlier, but I know that good news are well worth the wait.’_

The sentiment read loud and clear. He was expecting news of Dick’s non-existent pregnancy. Now the chance to escape Slade’s claws had slipped him by with Todd’s declining. Not that he thought Slade would turn his horse at the news that Dick wasn’t expecting as he should have been. Slade was pragmatic, focused on his task. For an alpha of his status to go running after an omega would be seen as shameful. That didn’t mean Slade might not hurry the proceedings along if he thought there to be a mission unfinished he would soon demand Dick back in his bed, on his hands and knees.

Dick couldn’t. He just couldn’t do it.

He needed to send back a reply, and he would need to lie. Consequences be damned. A month until Slade reached the capitol of Metropolis. Perhaps another two before he would be back in Gotham. That was plenty of time to figure something out.

Dick scrambled out of bed in search of pen and paper. He wrote down a few, quick lines, finishing off with: _‘Good news indeed. The Wilson line will continue. Yours faithfully.'_

______________

Once news spread that the army had reached Metropolis, the court demanded for a celebratory banquet. What exactly they were celebrating Dick had no idea, but if it distracted from the political tension he saw no reason to complain. Not when his brothers could do it so chiefly for him.

“Why do I have to be there?” Damian grumbled in plain misery.

Dick adjusted his collar with practiced ease. “Because you are the crown prince”

He avoided calling him king for the sole reason that it would only upset the boy further. Tim was in no better mood, having argued against the throwing of a banquet for two days before Oliver Queen had finally taken him aside and told him to ‘quit his whining’. Neither Tim nor Dick had appreciated that sentiment, but they both understood the political need for it.

Dick ignored Tim’s low grumbling and placed a hand on Damian’s shoulder in comfort before he took a step back in order for the boy’s guards to lead him into the banquet hall. Tim offered Dick his arm and they soon followed. 

Dick was wearing the black and orange of Slade’s house to show his devotion and fidelity. He hated it, felt like a traitor to his own family. The leering smiles and prolonged stares that followed him only confirmed the sensation. He hated it, hated it _, hated it._

Yet he smiled, because that is what Bruce had taught him, what everyone said he was good at. Perhaps the only thing he was good at. (And taking it. _Taking my knot so good. Always ready to spread your legs for me, huh?)._

When they reached the table of honors, Tim let go of him so that they could take their seats on either side of Damian. Behind Damian stood Harper and Todd, meanwhile Cain was somewhere circling the hall, blending in with the crowd like a ghost.

Dick sat at attention as was expected of him. Dutifully picking at his food, politely smiling at the conversations being held around him. Invited to listen, not to speak, especially not in the absence of his alpha. At the back of his neck he could feel the constant burning gaze of Todd’s sea-green eyes. He knows it without knowing. Used to people watching their fill, as if he was somehow a part of the buffet and anyone who wanted could take a bite out of him.

When Dick finally couldn’t take it anymore he rose from his seat, intent on seeking out Wally.

He found the redheaded beta in conversation with a pretty omega girl. Dick didn’t want to intrude, but once Wally actually caught sight of him, Dick had little choice but to approach. Wally wrinkled his face at Dick’s outfit, but instead of commenting on it he pulled Dick into a hug. The omega girl sending a jealous look Dick’s way, despite there being nothing to be jealous for, before she drew back.

“I haven’t talked to you in ages! How are you holding up?”

And Dick, finally settling for some honesty. “I have been better.”

“I can only imagine.” Then, because Wally had always known him better than most, instinctively understood that Dick needed distraction. His eyes lit up with mirth. “Dance with me”

Dick wanted to. All the gods in bloody heaven knew how much he wanted to. To go back to his carefree days when his actions spoke of little consequence, when Bruce was still there to patch him and his reputation up, when Dick could still laugh and cry and burry himself in the arms of his best friend without their being rumors and questions asked.

“I can’t” Dick swallowed hard and shook his head. “You know I can’t”

“It’s just a dance” Wally said. “Just one”

Dick closed his eyes and shook his head once more. Firmer this time. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you dare apologize!” Wally huffed in an uncontrolled moment of anger, then the beta took a deep breath and said: “Let’s just talk”

So that’s what they did. Pretending to be the kind of adults they had never wished to become. Bound by duty, choking on unfulfilled purpose. Maybe this is why Dick had avoided Wally the longest out of his friends, because coming face to face with Wally was also coming face to face with his own lost freedom.

Dick left early.

He went by Damian and Tim to tell them he was tired. Damian glanced longingly at the door behind them and Dick only wanted to scoot the boy up in his arms and leave with him. He couldn’t of course and when Dick glanced up he was met by the intense sympathy of Todd’s sea-green eyes.

Tim wished him goodnight, looking just as tired as Dick felt. Dick made his way over to one of the doors that lead out into a side corridor, nodding politely at the people trying to draw him into conversation. It felt hypocritical somehow. He escaped scathe-free enough, but once he stepped out of the banquet hall a hand wrapped around his shoulder and turned him around.

He had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he hadn’t even notice the alpha following him. Sir Todd’s face was passive, but there was a glint of something in his eyes that could very well have been anger. Who he was angry at, Dick didn’t know.

“What would the consequences be if Slade returned and found you barren?”

Dick didn’t want to think about it. He swallowed hard, feeling his breath come quicker. “I don’t know, but I’m assuming it wouldn’t be in my favor.”

Todd stared at him. Eyes imploring as if he was trying to put together a puzzle that had baffled him since childhood.

“How much land?” he said after a moment.

Dick’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What?”

“How much land would it get me to, you know…?”

“I don’t know. How much do you want?”

Todd held his gaze for another moment longer, before he finally glanced away and without answering Dick’s question he brought his own answer forth. “I’ll do it.”

Dick felt like he could breathe for the first time since Slade had left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I watched the 1993 movie about TIna Turner the other night (while writing on this fic, an excuse not to go to bed? maybe). Anyway I think I found the theme song for this fic:  
> "What's love got to do with it?  
> What's love but a second hand emotion?  
> Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?"  
> I mean it's a great song even if it's of course very 80's, but look up the lyrics!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their movements were purely mechanical but it did the job. The alpha came and once Dick had pulled off he laid down beside him and stared up at the ceiling. Todd didn’t move to touch him. The only sound filling the room was their uneven breathing. 
> 
> After a moment sir Todd rolled out of bed. Dick watched his retreating back, traced it with his eyes from the wide shoulders to the dip in the waist over the firm lines of his ass to the swell of his thighs. Physically speaking, he was an extraordinary specimen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! Badly written sex-scenes ahead!
> 
> No but on a more serious note: I've seen some movies where someone has been sexually assaulted and the cure to that always seems to be to sleep with the love of your life... Well, that's bullshit! So I tried not to do that here, which means sex will be awkward for our two heroes before it gets better. 
> 
> I always forget to tag, but I imagine this world to have intersex male omegas and intersex female alphas. 
> 
> Also on another note I will continue to write Jason as "sir Todd" for a while more to create that sense of distance between the two. Tell me if it feels awkward though, but I thought it might make sense at least until they start to reconnect. 
> 
> (Brief mention of Dickori, but it's nothing major and doesn't concern the plot)

The plan was simple because simple plans were easier to keep to. Tim helped them draw up a contract but it was Dick who dictated the content. The main condition Dick had was that he would be the one in charge of their encounters, meaning the alpha shouldn’t so much as look at him without Dick’s explicit consent, but also that there would be consequences if the terms were not followed. In return for this sir Todd was promised thirty acres of land up north, which the alpha seemed content enough with since he agreed without much trouble.

Leslie forced the alpha to go through a medical evaluation and finding him to be in prime condition she gave them her go-ahead. When Dick had asked her about a time frame that would be most opportune for him to get pregnant, Leslie had taken a long look at the omega before telling him: “It’s hard to say, but give it at least a month if you can."

This part had been awkward. “How often?”

“As often as you can.”

They could only spare the nights, as sir Todd could not suddenly disappear from Damian’s side, but thankfully it seemed that sir Cain had all the nightshifts. (Todd had fondly referred to her as something of a bat.)

But neither could an alpha that wasn’t his husband be seen sneaking in to Dick’s chambers in the middle of the night. (There was of course the secret passage leading straight into Dick’s bedroom from the servant stairs (it had been built as an escape route should the castle ever be besieged), but Dick had no intention of letting the alpha know about that.) It was therefor decided that they would meet up in Jason’s quarters.

Every night, for a month.

It was daunting, a monumental task. Standing at the beginning of it, Dick felt very much like Sisyphus pushing his rock, but maybe that was the wrong metaphor. Maybe he was just another of the endless lines of maidens and nymphs who were nothing more than pieces in a game of divine making. 

The sun had lowered itself behind the horizon and the courtyard below Dick’s window was clouded in shadows. Dick had prepared himself carefully by pressing oil-slick fingers inside himself, not trusting his body to produce enough slick on its own. He dressed himself in a dark blue dressing gown, tying the strings around his waist before he took a moment to appreciate the silhouette in the mirror. Like this he painted the perfect image of an omega, slim waist and with the flowing fabric creating the illusion of an hourglass stature. Dick was well aware that he was considered beautiful and he had used to take pleasure in it, in the way his body moved and the way he could use it to connect with others.

But that was before his marriage.

He took a deep breath before he reached for his black cloak and draped it around his shoulder. A last glance in the mirror showed him the quiet resolution in his set face and the brewing dread in his blue eyes. Pulling the hood over his head, Dick slipped out through the secret passage. He hurried down the servants stairs and further on through the corridors until he had reached the wing that housed most of the guards.

To his surprise he found himself quietly incensed on sir Todd’s behalf. The alpha deserved rooms among the other knights and lords despite his lack of ancestry. But as the situation was, Dick was perhaps even more grateful for the alpha’s current housing. Not that guards and servants didn’t gossip but if any lord should catch them out… well, the consequences would be dire.

Dick reached the door Todd had described to him, and taking a deep breath he let his knuckles rap against the wood. He couldn’t have waited long but it felt like every second stretched into an eternity. His heart was jack-hammering in his chest, and the breaths he drew only reached the top half of his lunges.

Then the door was opened and a warm light spread out in the dark corridor. Dick was quickly ushered inside, before sir Todd closed and locked the door behind him.

The alpha’s quarters consisted mainly of the one room. There was an open fireplace at the center of the far wall with a fire lit, a desk off to the left, a small window squeezed in between two overflowing bookshelves and a freshly made bed on Dick’s right.

“Your majesty” sir Todd greeted, awkwardly having backed into the middle of the room. He was dressed in a loose, salmon red tunic and brown breaches and judging by the look on his face he seemed about as lost as Dick felt. It was almost reassuring.

Dick spread his hands out to encompass the room and said as politely as he could. “It’s nice”

“Nice, huh?” Todd said with a self-deprecating smile.

“Homely” Dick tried, and it truly was with the way Todd had lit these small oil lamps and placed them around the room in order to ward off the shadows.

Dick undid his cloak and when he turned around for some place to hang it, Todd shot forward to grab it for him. Their fingers brushed briefly together and a small spark of something shot up Dick’s arm, making him curl his hand protectively against his chest. Meanwhile sir Todd hung Dick’s cloak up on a hanger by the door, unaware of the way that simple touch had shaken the omega. 

“Eh, so…?” Todd said, turning back around while rubbing a hand at the back of his neck.

They were standing close but not enough to be touching. Todd’s scent was all around him, penetrating the air. There was the initial smell of old books and sandalwood, then the more subtle scent of hazelnut and pomegranate. A fresh sort of sweetness with an undercurrent layer of something more savory. It was a nice scent, Dick thought in spite of himself.

Dick undid the strings and let his dressing gown fall open, revealing inch by inch of naked skin. Involuntarily sir Todd reached out, hand suspended in the air before he remembered himself. He was not to touch Dick unless Dick told him to. The alpha retracted his hand as if burnt.

Meanwhile Dick let the gown slip down his shoulders and pool to the floor. Sir Todd’s breath hitched. The alpha then shook his head as if to clear it before he quickly shed his tunic. Dick watched the way his muscles rippled beneath scarred skin. Took him in fully for the first time in years, from the sharp jawline, the strong arms to the interest in those sea green eyes. The alpha had grown up to be… handsome.

“The bed?” Dick murmured.

“Yeah, sure” sir Todd said, gesturing for Dick to make himself at home.

Dick turned his back on the alpha, feeling the vulnerability hit him full force as he approached the bed. Behind him he could hear the rustle of fabric as Todd shed the breaches as well.

Taking a shuddering breath, Dick climbed atop the covers. He placed himself in the breeding position: legs parted, ass up and head kept down. As was expected of an omega who wanted to be bred. Then he waited. For the dip in the mattress, for the heat radiating off of warm skin, for hands to claim him and for that final intrusion, but nothing happened.

Dick felt his legs quiver, his entire body shaking with humiliation, but still he kept his head down. Pressed his forehead against the bedspread and willed the alpha to just get this over with. He was presenting himself to be taken, so why didn’t the alpha take him? That was what alphas did after all, wasn’t it?

Slade certainly hadn’t had any problem with it.

The mere thought made another boot of panic bloom in Dick’s chest, and his body shook even worse as his muscles tensed up for the inevitable pain that would come. 

“I’m not doing it like this” the alpha said after another moment.

Dick only felt the embarrassment grow. Here he was, fully naked in a strange alpha’s bed with his head down, ass up, ready to be bred and yet… And yet he was rejected.

“What?” he croaked out.

“You fucking hate it like this.” sir Todd said as if it was the simplest of things, bringing Dick sharply back to the present. 

Dick shook his head and lied through his teeth. “I don’t”

Sir Todd huffed a breath. “Yes, you do. You’re shaking.”

It was like the air went out of him then and Dick slumped down on the bed. He turned until he was lying on his back but refused to look in the alpha’s direction. Instead he turned his head until he could see a sliver of the moon peeking in through the tiny window. Praying for some unearthly power to just take him away from here. 

The bed beside him dipped and he could feel a finger poke gently at his knees. It made him want to snarl, but aggression rarely helped in these kind of situations. 

“Hey, look at me” sir Todd murmured.

Reluctantly Dick turned his head so that he could gaze up at the alpha. Sir Todd looked back at him with a surprising amount of sympathy in his eyes. There was a softness to them that made Dick almost want to cry.

“I have an idea.” Todd murmured, and poked Dick some more until the omega had moved out of the way. Dick pulled himself into a sitting position only for Todd to join him on the bed, taking up the place Dick had just vacated. His muscled chest stretched out like a canvas bearing scars that grew across the skin like vines. 

“Come here” he urged, lightly tapping Dick’s hip until the omega moved to straddle him. Only then did Dick realize what Todd was offering him: symbolic submission. Like this Todd could not hold him down, and as long as Todd didn’t grab at him Dick could get away whenever he wanted. Dick was given the power he had asked for, but what truly surprised him was how freely Todd was willing to give it up.

Experimentally Dick rolled his slack member against Todd’s, watching the alpha tense up as his body stirred alive. If they had come together like this under other circumstances, Dick might have trailed his hands down Todd’s body, enticing him, trying to see how far he could push him, how much he could work him up. As was, Dick kept his hands to himself, and in return so did Todd.

He scooted forward, until Todd’s half-hard member passed by his own. The tip of the alpha’s cock nudged at Dick’s cunt. With the preparation he had given himself earlier it was easy enough to let the alpha slip inside him. Dick watched in fascination as Todd’s breath hitched, and the alpha clenched his fingers tightly in the bedcover.

Dick moved then, feeling the way the alpha grew harder inside him as he raised himself in slow circles. It didn’t matter that Dick didn’t feel anything, that he didn’t grow wet or that his cock stayed slack. They just needed to get this over with, so he went through the motions.

As he kept rising and sinking down on the alpha, he felt Todd trying not to thrust back. But with the way the alpha filled more of him, Dick could see how Todd struggled as the muscles in his stomach tensed up more and more.

Dick clenched down around him and Todd came with a deep groan, cock buried to the hilt. He sat still, thighs shaking, as he let the alpha finish inside him. The wet release pulsing against his walls.

Then he waited another moment until the alpha had grown slack before he dismounted. Dick could feel some of the spent trail down the inside of his thighs. It was uncomfortable but Dick forced himself to lay down beside Todd for just a moment, to make sure that it didn’t all come rushing out of him.

Sir Todd turned his head with a dazed look in his eyes, hand twitching slightly as if all he wanted to do was reach out.

“You haven’t… Let me…”

“It’s fine” Dick said.

He wasn’t going to get hard now and it would only be awkward to force it for the sake of the alpha’s ego.

They laid there in tense silence for another few minutes before Dick finally rose from the bed and went to redress himself. There was nothing sensual about it, only an urgency to get out as fast as possible.

Soon enough he had pulled the cloak around himself. When he turned back towards the bed to take his leave, he realized Todd was silently watching him. There was no heat in his gaze, no predatory hunger, only resigned curiosity. As if the alpha was trying to figure him out, but had reconciled with the fact that he never would.

Dick didn’t know what to say. No one had prepared him for the kind of diplomacy needed in situations like these. Not that Todd said much either. And maybe silence was enough. Maybe there was nothing for either of them to say.

So Dick pulled the hood over his head and gave a short nod before he slipped out the door. His legs felt numb as they carried him through the cold corridors, steps echoing slightly against the stone. He hurried as much as he dared without breaking into a full sprint. Soon enough he was back at the servants stairs, and he took the steps two at a time until he reached the tiny ledge where he could let himself back into his chambers.

The bedroom was still warm as he snuck back inside, even as the fire had died down a long time ago. All he wanted to do was to bury himself under the quilts of his bed and not come out until morning, when he could pretend that nothing had happened.

But he couldn’t go to bed with the scent of sir Todd still clinging to his skin. He went by the bathroom where a basinet of water was still left out for him. With a wash-rag he quickly rubbed the scent of alpha away.

Then he tucked the dark-blue dressing gown into the bottom of his wardrobe. It felt a lot like hiding away evidence and in another life, Dick thought, he might have been good at it. Only then did he finally allow himself to creep between the quilts of his bed, drawing them around himself until he could disappear within their warmth.

He imagined his mother’s scent and calming touch, his father’s safe, warms arms, but he fell asleep to the image of a boy with sea-green eyes.

_____________

The first time Dick had met Jason had been in first the days following Jason’s arrival at the castle. Bruce had told Dick much later that he had picked up Jason during one of his trips to the capitol, during which he had gotten himself lost in one of the slum areas. Apparently that was something the alpha did a lot, handing out money and food whenever he could get away with it. Bruce had encountered Jason as the boy had tried to steal something from his saddle when the king had turned his back on his horse.

 _“The boy had courage”_ Bruce had said when Dick had once asked him why he had decided to make a knight of, what people considered to be, a simple street rat.

When their first meeting took place, Dick and his parents had already stayed at the castle for a couple of months since the court had taken great delight in the circus’ performances and had wanted to keep them around. Dick had been out on a walk with his father when they had stumbled upon sir Pennyworth trying to convince a very petulant young boy to give back something he had stolen from the knight’s pocket.

Dick’s father had always been what Dick’s mother would call a social butterfly, so in the face of such a scene it wasn’t in his nature to step around it with sneering disregard, rather he had seen a problem that he might be able to help solve. Dick dutifully trailed behind him.

At their approach, sir Pennyworth straightened his back and gave them a curt nod. When the boy realized the presence of two potentially threatening strangers he immediately went to hide behind the knight’s long legs.

This only sparked Dick’s curiosity and he stepped away from his father’s side to catch a better glimpse at the other boy. The boy was perhaps a year or two younger than Dick, but he looked smaller. Thin and gaunt. Malnourished. He had black hair that stuck up on his head like twigs, a trail of faint freckles over his nose and eyes shifting between blue and green. As Dick tilted his head to consider him the boy sneered, showing off uneven teeth.

Due to Dick having grown up in a circus he had never stayed in one place for long. Therefor he had rarely been given the chance to bond with children outside of the circus troop, and there hadn’t been many children Dick’s own age traveling with Haly’s. Maybe that was why Dick found himself so immediately fascinated with the boy.

As Dick took yet another step forward the boy shrunk even further back, and soon enough they were locked in a weird sort of peek-a-boo, spinning around sir Pennyworth’s leg. The old knight had merely sighed in resignation and let them continue their game. But if one braved a quick glance upwards the knight was smiling fondly at the prospect that his charge might have made a new friend. Meanwhile Dick’s father was laughing at his son’s brash behavior.

Soon enough Dick had coerced a smile from the boy and it changed his features dramatically. In that moment he bloomed from a suspicious, angry and insecure child to a potential playmate.

Dick had been nine then and in the days that followed they became fast friends, making them practically inseparable in the following years. At least until Dick’s parents fell to their death three years later.

Then things had rapidly changed. Bruce, who had lost his parents at a young age and was childless himself, had taken Dick under his wing. Dick had gained a title, a new status and had been brutally separated from his old life. Jason had continued his training under sir Pennyworth and soon enough he had been sent away to train with other masters.

When he had returned years later for the funeral of sir Pennyworth, he was irrevocably changed, but so was Dick.

_____________

The following day Dick had invited Barbara and Wally for tea as he had been in desperate need of distraction. The two betas had settled down side by side on the fanciful couch Dick kept in his atrium, while he himself served them the tea. Only when he had made certain that both his guest were content did Dick claim one of the armchairs.

Dick gingerly sipped on the red raspberry leaf tea that Leslie had prescribed for him to drink since apparently it enhanced fertility. Meanwhile his guests were drinking black tea, none the wiser. He listened as his friends spoke, let their voices drown out his own thoughts.

Wally was in the middle of telling them a story about the last time he had gone to the capitol a couple of weeks earlier. He had, physically, ran into this woman; a trader’s daughter by the name of Linda Park. In his forcefulness he had toppled her over, including all the fabric and pearls she had currently been carrying. These kinds of accidents of course weren’t rare concerning Wally, but the star-struck look in his eyes certainly was.

Barbara sent him an amused smile and Dick had to hide his own behind his tea-cup as Wally continued undeterred, telling them everything about this encounter with the beta girl. From the way Wally had scrambled to help her pick up the scattered pearls, almost falling on his head in his hurry, to the way she had laughed at him with stars in his eyes (at least according to Wally). 

“That’s the girl I’m gonna marry” Wally finished off with, sighing loudly as he sank back against the couch. Barbara patted him lightly on the knee in comfort or support, whatever it was that he needed the most.

Meanwhile Dick nibbled at a scone, lost in thought once more. Because the thing was, Dick understood Wally, he truly did. He had felt the same thing a year before Bruce’s disappearance when he had first encountered the crown princess of Tamaran. The omega princess had travelled with her mother and sister on a diplomatic journey through some of the neighboring kingdoms. Dick can’t remember if they had held even one conversation before they fell into the most intense whirlwind romance of Dick’s life.

He had thought the same thing then as Wally did now, but Koriand’r was already promised to someone else. It had been just another of the injustices of being an omega. For the years to come Dick had measured all his sexual encounters to her, and none had yet to surpass.

Now it didn’t really matter anymore, did it?

When Dick realized he had been quiet too long, he plastered on a smile that was genuine enough and wished Wally good luck in his pursuit.

Barbara was about to say something, probably change the subject, when the door was rudely pushed open and Damian came storming in. The kid wore a scowl set heavily on his face, eyebrows drawn together and mouth curled in a tight downward-sloping line.

“I demand an explanation!”

Trailing behind him was sir Harper. The redheaded alpha looked on the verge of exploding with laughter. However Dick’s gaze quickly passed him by to seek out the broad-chested frame of sir Todd, who seemed reluctant to step inside Dick’s chambers. He sent the omega a curt nod in acknowledgement then turned his gaze away as if he couldn’t bother less.

While the action was dismissive (which angered Dick more than it probably should), it also meant that the alpha wasn’t too concerned about Damian’s tantrum which meant that Dick needn’t be either.

“What is it, Dami?” Dick asked, taking a deep breath. This seemed like the kind of conversation that would require a lot of patience.

“Harper claims that you have a _harem_ of redheads!” The boy-king was boiling in his fury. “What is that supposed to mean?!”

Sir Harper couldn’t hold it in any longer and broke into full blown laughter. Behind him sir Todd sighed in exasperation. But none of that was really important when Damian was eyeing up Barbara and Wally with suspicion.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to this” Dick said honestly.

“Nothing at all.” Barbara said, voice growing cold with fury as she rose from her seat and approached Harper with the kind of deadliness that had once attracted Dick to her.

“Sir Harper”

“Hey, lady, no need to be aggressive.” Harper said, hands going up in front of him in a disarming manner. “It was just a joke. He’s sorta got a type though you have to admit.”

Barbara however wasn’t deterred, grabbing a hold of Harper’s neck and leading him firmly but non-violently to the door. “You immature blasphemy of a man”

Sir Todd dutifully stepped aside, only reaching out to slap his co-worker up the head with the flat of his hand.

“Ouch, you already did that once!” Harper protested, voice going faint as Barbara lead him further away.

“Seemed worth repeating” Todd grumbled.

At the sight Dick had to hide his smile behind his hand before it threatened to grow too large and get noticed. Wally however did, quirking his lips in silent amusement. Eyes moving between Dick and sir Todd.

Damian on the other hand was still fuming where he stood in front of Dick, hands on his hips, still looking for an explanation. Dick reached out for him and the boy reluctantly drew closer.

“You don’t have a harem of redheads?” Damian asked after a moment.

“God no!” Dick exclaimed, shaking his head violently. “It was a stupid joke on sir Harper’s part.”

“Good” Damian nodded, and when Dick offered to scent him the boy drew even closer until Dick could comfortably wrap his arms around him. “There would be rumors. The court wouldn’t appreciate it, could reach back to Wilson”

“You were worried about me?” Dick asked slightly bewildered. He had thought this was another of those odd, old-fashioned notions that Damian had been indoctrinated with by his grandfather.

Damian nodded reluctantly and drew back, cheeks heating up with embarrassment. Still he tried to put on a brave face. It was cute.

“That’s sweet of you” Dick murmured, brushing his fingers through Damian’s hair. “But I can take care of myself”

“Your majesty” sir Todd called for Damian, seemingly done with the entire altercation. “It’s time for your swords-training”

Damian immediately perked up and headed in the direction of the door, only to be stopped short by sir Todd’s hand landing heavily on his shoulder.

“Forgot something?” the knight asked.

Chastised, Damian turned back and bowed lowly, murmuring apologizes for his unbecoming behavior. Sir Todd gave an approving pat before he turned the kid around and led him away.

Dick turned to Wally and the both of them broke out into startled laughter. It didn’t get any better when Barbara came back just a minute later, slightly out of breath and grumbling in irritation.

______________

When the night came, Dick traced his way back to sir Todd’s quarters. As he entered the room the alpha began by apologizing for Harper’s behavior, but Dick just waved him off. After all he was well-acquainted with sir Harper’s peculiar sense of humor. (And maybe the alpha hadn’t been entirely wrong either, it seemed like Dick did in fact have a type).

Dick shed his gown. They were done talking for the night. Todd shed his clothes and laid back on the bed. He looked uncomfortable as he waited for Dick to straddle him. For a horrible moment Dick wanted to leave him there, but this wasn’t any of Todd’s fault. The alpha was only here because Dick had asked this favor of him.

He placed a knee on the bed. Todd glanced up at him, clearly struggling to maintain a blank expression. For a brief moment Dick thought of the boy hiding behind sir Pennyworth’s legs; who couldn’t hide a feeling to save his life, who snarled as expressively as he laughed.

But this wasn’t Jason, Dick told himself as he sank down on the alpha’s cock, because how was he supposed to treat Jason with this kind of indifference?

Their movements were purely mechanical but it did the job. The alpha came and once Dick had pulled off he laid down beside him and stared up at the ceiling. Todd didn’t move to touch him. The only sound filling the room was their uneven breathing.

After a moment sir Todd rolled out of bed. Dick watched his retreating back, traced it with his eyes from the wide shoulders to the dip in the waist over the firm lines of his ass to the swell of his thighs. Physically speaking, he was an extraordinary specimen.

The alpha walked up to the fire place and poured some heated water into a wide brimmed bowl. On his way back to the bed Todd grabbed a wash-rag. He offered it up to Dick, placing the bowl of hot water on the bed.

“I should have offered you last night but…” Todd trailed off, hand going up to rub at the back of his neck. It seemed to be a nervous habit.

Dick nodded and gave a small, grateful smile. He reached for the rag to wash himself off, when he realized that Todd was still watching him. Sir Todd seemed to come to the same realization at the same time as he quickly turned around, murmuring an apology before reaching for his breaches to cover himself with. Moving to busy himself at the opposite corner of the room.

Dick washed himself off as quickly as he could, ridding himself of the sweat, the excessive spent trailing down his thighs and the overbearing scent of alpha. When he was done he reached for his gown and dressed himself.

The five nights that followed passed in a similar fashion of tense, put-upon indifference, but then sir Todd did something radically different. Just as the alpha was about to come he reached out with one hand to brush his thumb against Dick’s knee. Nothing more, no big act of intrusion, yet it startled Dick to the core. The touch was barely present but so gentle it sent an almost electric sensation up Dick’s spine. He clenched involuntarily around the alpha’s cock and sir Todd came hard.

Dick didn’t stay to wash himself off that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't entirely happy with the scene where Damian rushes in during tea-hour but I thought this story neeeded some more lighthearted/silly moments too or it would be way too depressing for me to write. 
> 
> We'll get more relationship development in the next chapter I promise.

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be just an excuse for me to imagine Dick and Jason having a lot of sex in a medieval setting but then a plot sneaked it's way into all of this and here we are in the midst of a political intrigue
> 
> Also, title might change. Why is it so hard to pick a good title???


End file.
